- Maybe I'm just getting old but I've fallen into a bit of a hip hop rut recently. I’ve found myself steering clear from anything those dang kids champion on their dang internet. More and more I find myself having less time to delve and I’ve started making quick and more damning judgements. Operating in such a mindset has left my current rotation of rap a little on the dated side, especially if you consider how fast the hip hop world rotates. Keeping on top of American rap started to feel more like a chore than a labour of love.

I had a lone YG track on my iTunes up until a week ago. A joint he did with Drake back when I was briefly enamoured with said Canadian upstart. That track was nothing special so I moved on, on to the next one, YG falling into the gaping hole which is my ignorance. With this in mind I was more than a little surprised that It took me literally about two literal earth minutes to become quite smitten with YG's debut studio full-length, My Krazy Life. YG finds himself in the forefront of this new breed of West Coast rappers, consciously or not, attempting to meld old school, Ice Cube-at-his-best-era gangsta rap with today's mixtape heavy, genre-hopping hip hop where the bedroom producer has become all powerful and the music has lost some of its inherent importance and charm.

Produced for the most part by longterm collaborator and business partner DJ Mustard, My Krazy Life recalls the pure fun and enjoyment of those larger than life classics of the early 90s without ever feeling like pure plagiarism. Mustard’s beats and the production here in general are simple but oh-so effective. The mix of gangsta rap, g-funk and a modern mindset at times as eerie as it is motivational, occasionally sending South Central to some kind of dystopian future that admittedly isn’t all that different from how it is now. Short and surprisingly tolerable skits flesh out YG’s self-proclaimed crazy life and giving a little more insight into his world of crime, women and the desire to party. An increased level of scope and awareness and just a little self-reflection amongst the grandeur helping to ground YG.

The obligatory guest vocalists here are a nice mix of up-and-comers and more established names, with Ty Dolla $ign & Big TC mixing it up with the likes of Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q & Kendrick Lamar. Most of whom have been taking strides to bring the West Coast back to prominence- making the pairing up feel more like a showing of strength and solidarity than simple cash-in.

My Krazy Life proves there is an art to gangsta rap which is far more complex than some kind of rap-by-numbers, throw a bunch of random elements at the wall and see what sticks affair. Despite the mutterings of popular opinion, there is a subtle balance in play. YG, here, is one of the best examples I’ve heard for quite some time. This is not a record for those people that can’t leave a couple of pre-conceived notions at the door. It’s one for all the chiller-bros. Those who in some small way could see themselves spending a day or two in YG’s krazy life. My faith in hip-hop is slowly returning. I guess it’s time to all get face tattoos and invest in a couple of pristine white singlets. Catch you on the corner.

- Jay Edwards.